Some kids wanted to be firemen when they grew up, some wanted to be astronauts, some wanted to be ninjas, but I wanted to coach high school basketball. This is a blog about coaching basketball and basketball in general. I have a deep passion for basketball and am going to use this blog to share that passion with others as well as expand my own knowledge and ideas. I might post Xs and Os, drills, coaching ideas, or just random thoughts on basketball. Enjoy!

Monday, August 17, 2015

Greece U19 Offense

Image courtesy of FIBA.com

I've been watching a lot of U19 FIBA recently and one of my favorite Xs and Os teams so far has been Greece. They run a lot of really good set stuff, which I am going to share. Much of the offense comes out of Horns. One of the interesting parts of the horns sets that Greece ran was that a few involved a post/post cross screen. That in itself isn't weird, but they put a perimeter on the block and screened for him to get open. That's a new wrinkle that I like.

Horns SetsHorns Flair to Back Door
In this horns set, the posts screen across, one pops out, and gets the ball. The point guard comes back and gets a dribble handoff. The post who set the cross screen comes back and sets a flair for the player who just made the handoff.

The point skips the ball to the player coming off the flair screen. He dribbles at the wing then who back cuts for a layup.

Horns Iverson

Not entirely sure if they ran it out of Horns, but they could have so I'm putting it in! It's a very simple take on the classic "Iverson" set. The wings circle - one over the top and one under. In this set the post who's on the back side of the player going over the top steps out and catches the ball. As he does the player going over the top wraps his cut to the basket.

If the player who wraps doesn't get the pass for a layup, the post on his side down screens for him and he pops out for the shot.

Basic Horns Action

This was a basic horns action that they ran consistently. The elbow players would be one post and on guard. The post would cross screen for the guard who pops out and gets the ball. The point cuts and the post trails into a ball screen. The point comes back and back screens the screener on the ball screen. The point also could pop out, get the ball, and look inside to the big posting up off the screen.

Point Guard Corner

This set is pretty similar to the one above. The post cross screens the guard who flashes out and catches it. The point cuts to the corner, the wing moves up. The post who set the cross screen follows and ball screens. The guard dribbles across the top, the other wing rises and then back cuts.

If the back cut isn't there, the post re-screens and they come off the ball screen hard to the middle. It would be a great entry for a Euro Ball Screen team.

Double Down Screen

This might be my favorite set. The set starts with the high post down screening down for the wing. The point dribbles over to the wing on the screen's side. The wing cuts up to the top of the key. The point passes to the cutting wing. The opposite post steps out and the wing reverses the ball to him. As he catches the pass, the wing who made the pass now re-screens for the post who first screened for him.

The post pops, catches, and does a dribble handoff with the point guard. The post on the other side of the floor follows his pass into a pick and roll out of the double handoff.

One wrinkle they added, that I like, is to have their big read the screen and curl it if possible.

Zone Offense

Basics

They ran a standard looking 1-3-1 with some tweaks. First, they would bring their guard to a lane line and they would pop their high post as a reversal man. He would reverse the ball and then either ball screen or cut into the open space. Below are a few clips of the offense at work.

Zone Post Across

Another piece of the zone offense was having their post step across and post up the middle of the zone. They'd enter the ball and get action out of that.

Inbounds Sets

Off Set Box

This set starts in a look that's an off set box. One post is on the ball side block and a perimeter is in the opposite corner. The other post is on the free throw line and the point guard starts on the ball side wing. The ball side block up screens for the point who cuts the the rim. The post pops and gets the ball.

As he does, the post at the free throw line down screens the point who cuts up and gets the ball. The post who set the down screen trails and sets the ball screen.

Box Set

In this box set one post starts on the back side block and the other on the ball side elbow. The player on the back side elbow cuts off the player on the ball side elbow. The ball side block sets a back screen for the screener at the elbow. The back side block then back screens the screener for either a flair or a curl to the basket.

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About Me

I am a thirty year old who loves working with young people and basketball. It's my passion and what I've wanted to do since childhood.

This upcoming season will be my 11th year and I will be the sophomore coach at Tartan High School (Oakdale, MN).

I've learned a lot in my ten years, but the biggest thing I've learned is that I know enough to know that I don't know anything. I am constantly trying to better myself as a coach and gain more knowledge about coaching and the game. I'm hoping to learn from others in this blogging experience. With that in mind I would greatly appreciate any comments on what I post on the blog, I'm always looking to learn and that's part of why I put my ideas on here.